By Sean Bateman | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice
It has now been just over two weeks since Charlie Kirk was assassinated, and the articles, news stories, podcasts, and posts have not slowed down. The reactions have ranged far and wide, but the mainstream narratives have bifurcated into the Left asking to “tone down the rhetoric” and the Right discussing how this was “the crossing of the Rubicon,” “the shot heard round the world,” or the start of “war.”
Naturally, many have fussed and worried over this “violent rhetoric,” calling it unacceptable, inflammatory, and any number of other terrible things.
However, if we care about truth, we should not be worried about people saying this is war; we should be concerned about whether war is actually upon us.
So is this war? And what sort of war is it?
There is no formal declaration, no borders being fought over, no uniforms, and when you walk into Walmart, you can’t easily see two sides. So how could it be war? Sure, we see violence happening, but the pearl-clutchers on all sides wring their hands and decry violence daily.
Yet the true violence has been happening for years in a daily ideological and spiritual war.
The bodies we see in the streets are merely the fruit of a much deeper war, one that’s spiritual at its core, and it’s high time we learned to recognize it plainly. The shot that killed Charlie Kirk didn’t start something; it illuminated much of what was already happening behind the curtain. This is the inevitable clash of irreconcilable ideologies.
More specifically, this is a war between the idea that transcendental truth exists and the idea that there is no such thing.
On the Right, most seek truth and believe it is built into the fabric of our universe, transcending mere humans, while the Left is dominated by those who believe the only truth is what is found within themselves. It’s the gospel of Marx, where “my truth” trumps your truth, and the only “god” is man and government.
You may think this hardly warrants such language. After all, why not just agree to disagree and talk about it? This is where the last two weeks have been illuminating. It turns out that if the Left’s entire ideological and spiritual identity is based on there being no real truth, then any form of debate, truth-seeking, or “agreeing to disagree” goes against their “god.”
Furthermore, with no foundation for truth, statements like “don’t murder” or “violence is bad” are meaningless. Who gets to say violence is bad? Who gets to define violence? Without transcendental truth, the answer is whoever furthers the Left’s goals best.
The simple fact is the idea that there is truth and the idea that there is no truth cannot coexist in a healthy society. G.K. Chesterton saw this conflict as far back as 1908. In his book Orthodoxy, he wrote:
“We are on the road to producing a race of men too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table. We are in danger of seeing philosophers who doubt the law of gravity as being a mere fancy of their own. Skeptics of this order are not skeptics at all; they are dogmatists. They will not believe in anything. There is a thought that stops thought. That is the only thought that ought to be stopped.”
Charlie wasn’t killed due to random rage; it was the spawn of a culture marinated in the lie that truth is hate speech, that those who question the narrative are fascists, and that the only sin is standing in the way of “progress.” The result is that our society is cheering on the death of a man who only wanted to talk.
The calls to tone down the rhetoric are far too late and far too meaningless; there is already a spiritual and ideological war upon us, and while ideas have consequences, bad ideas have victims and leave bodies in the streets.
What then should we do?
1. Understand the times and seasons that we are living in.
This is no mere electoral spat or political disagreement. This is a world-changing conflict that will affect generations to come. If you still assume you could go to a college campus and have conversations seeking truth and discussing hard things in safety, you need to wake up and smell the blood. We cannot fight a war if we do not realize it is happening.
2. Pick your side.
Will you seek truth and live in this world, or purposefully lose yourself in whatever fantasies you may have? I realize there is a spectrum of people ranging from Left to Right, and a lot of you may be somewhere in the middle and don’t want to go “Left” or “Right.” But you will eventually either pick a side or get caught up with whatever side happens to be winning at the time. Make the conscious choice to follow truth.
3. Associate with those who build you up and not those who seek your harm.
No, you don’t have to start purging your Facebook friends list or ignoring calls from your family. But ask yourself this: if you knew someone would laugh and celebrate over your grave if you died today, would you:
Date them? Let them teach your kids? Support their business? Trust their news? Let them babysit your children? Hire them as an employee?
You may answer yes to some of these, and that’s okay. But know that if they will dance on Charlie’s grave, they will put no effort into keeping you from yours. So, reasonably distance yourself from those who would see you and your family harmed. Instead, seek out those who would fight for truth alongside you.
For me, I have been involved in the White Rose Resistance and the Young Conservatives of Colorado and have been spending more and more time at my Church. Get some friends together and have debates in your garage, talk to your coworkers and find those willing to stand with you, go to a church—whatever it takes to find others that will stand for truth.
4. Get grounded in the Truth.
You will not be able or ready to fight for truth if you do not know truth. One of the greatest ways to fight the Leftist ideology is to seek truth! You are fighting an uphill battle with all the distractions and lies around you, but it is a battle worth fighting. Be like Charlie in this regard: study hard, engage with difficult ideas, and remain rooted in reality and logic while doing so.
In so doing, I encourage you: the pursuit of truth is not blind groping in the dark.
As you pursue truth, you will realize there must be some basis for truth outside yourself and our universe, and that is where the good news comes in.
For the Creator of all things and all truth came down to earth and revealed Himself to us. Christ came to earth, the Truth incarnate, and gave us a foundation for knowledge.
(Doubt me? Research it and find the evidence for yourself!)
If you recognize your own inability to find ultimate truth apart from God, turn from trusting in yourself, your ideas, or your works, and place your faith in Jesus, the Truth incarnate. As John 8:31-32 promises, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
5. Stay steady and watchful.
Modern man wants instant relief. We crave the pill, the policy, the political savior to fix everything by morning so we can continue doing nothing. The path to victory is not taken in a day; it is built over months, years and generations.
By the will of the Lord, we may win in the next few years. But if not, we must be willing to continue on until truth prevails.
As Charlie said, “Get married, have children, build a legacy, pass down your values, pursue the eternal, seek true joy.”
Then be ready to fight for the ability to continue doing so.
Soli Deo Gloria
Sean Bateman was formerly a mechanical engineer but left to engage in the culture war full-time as the Colorado Chapter Leader for the White Rose Resistance. He is also an active member of the Young Conservatives of Colorado.
Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of Rocky Mountain Voice. But even so, we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.